BP: BOSTON'S PISSED! OR IS IT BIKE POWER?, 1°

Last Sunday a crowd gathered in Harvard Square to listen to a band play. What's unusual about this? The music was powered completely by two stationary bikes pedalled by volunteers from the audience.

The band is Melodeego, which means “Music In Action”. The odd looking sound system made of scrap wood, car speakers and some recycled bike parts is an early version of a project called LowRes (short for Low Resources). Melodeego has been raising money and support for the project with a new campaign called “Boston's Pissed!”

The purpose of the campaign is to take the anger and pain that so many people are feeling about the environmental disaster in the Gulf and “Turn it Around with Bike Powered Sound”.

“There is so much angry talk lately, but not too much action,” explains lead singer Peter Malagodi. “We want to give people something positive and real they can help build. It's a step forward.”

The campaign comes shortly after Melodeego released a new EP called “The World Is You.” The music speaks to a generation facing challenges like climate disruption, rampant social injustice, and disasters like the recent spill in the Gulf. The message of hope, responsibility and interconnection demonstrated by the band's bold actions comes through loud and clear in the chorus of the title track: “You seem so far away but it’s not true. We are one body and the world is you.”

At one point during the performance in Harvard Square, a ten year old girl volunteered to power one of the bikes for a song. As the music rang out loud and clear, the bass player shouted into the microphone, “There are those who would have you believe that clean energy is too difficult, even impossible to achieve right now. As you can see it's not only possible, but it's so easy even a child can do it! We can all do it!”

Thanks to the tremendous support of so many people excited about a “clean green music scene,” LowRes has nearly reached the initial fundraising goal of $11,000. With a little more support there will be enough resources to build a truly impressive 2kw mobile sound and light system. Designs can be seen at LowRes.info

Anyone interested in donating to LowRes, learning more about the campaign, or hearing Melodeego's music can visit Melodeego.com